Feeling Your Age
by fire mystic
Summary: Reno and Tifa are faced with the realities of going over the hill. ReTi for The Sacred and Profane.


_For The Sacred and Profane, whom I hope appreciates me switching out the swing for something similar and more appropriate for this story. Don't worry; the swing remains my favorite._

_I neither own nor profit from ffvii or it's characters, and only hope Reno forgives me soon for catching him in a such a vulnerable state._

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

Feeling Your Age

"Elly! He's going to be here in about ten minutes." Tifa yelled up the stairs for at least the fifth time that night.

"I'll be ready," Elly called back, excitement filling her voice.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"No, I think I've got it, Mom."

Tifa released a long-suffering sigh. Her daughter was taking her sweet time getting ready, and there was no way she was going to leave her date to her fathers' mercy for any extended period of time.

Speaking of which, where was Reno, anyway?

She found him in the kitchen examining the contents of the refrigerator with a scowl stamped on his face. He had just finished dinner half an hour ago; she knew he wasn't scrounging because he was hungry.

"Anything in particular you're looking for?"

Reno spared her a glance before sticking his head back in the refrigerator.

"Are you sure I can't just make this kid disappear?"

Leaning over to look in the refrigerator with him, Tifa curled her arm over his shoulders.

"Fei is a nice young man, and he and Elly are fantastic together."

Backing out of the refrigerator, Reno drew away to sit at the table, head resting in his hands.

"It just makes me…"

"Nervous? Pensive? Anxious?"

"Protective," Reno supplied.

"Overprotective," Tifa corrected.

The doorbell interrupted them. Tifa turned her best 'be nice' expression on Reno before preceding him to the door.

"Please be nice, Reno. For Elly."

Reno grumbled something from behind her, and Tifa pretended she did not hear any words that resembled slow, painful, or death.

The young man she opened the door for was the epitome of a gentleman. His tuxedo was well fitted, and his long, dark hair was pulled neatly back from his face, leaving only a couple of strands loose, which Tifa suspected might be intentional. In one hand, he carried a white corsage. He extended his other hand in greeting.

"Hello, Mrs. Lockhart."

"Hello, Fei." She by-passed the hand and pulled him into a motherly hug, leading him into the house. "Elly will be down in a minute or two. Or so she's been telling me for about an hour now. Come on in and have a seat, and I'll see if I can hurry her along."

He followed her into the house, once again extending his hand to Reno.

"Good evening, Sir."

Tifa watched Reno carefully, hoping he wouldn't refuse the respectful gesture. He didn't, thankfully, but Tifa couldn't help but notice the pinch in Reno's eyes when Fei spoke to him. What was that all about?

She saw them into the living room, giving a last pleading look to Reno as she sat them down, Reno in his favorite chair, and Fei perched on the edge of the couch. She didn't think the conversation would be sparkling, but she kept her fingers crossed it would at least remain civil. For all Reno's grumbling and complaining in the background, he had never been outwardly hostile to Fei, and Tifa hoped it would remain that way.

She raced up the stairs and practically crashed into Elly's door, knocking at the wood a bit desperately. She didn't wait for a response before bursting in.

"Hurry up, Elly! I've left Fei down there with your _father_, for Gaia's…"

She stopped short, words deserting her.

Elly was startlingly beautiful in the deep sapphire gown she wore, her red hair falling softly around her shoulders, her brown eyes wide and slightly panicked.

"Should I have put my hair up? I was going to, but…"

Tifa reached out and pushed a strand behind Elly's ear.

"I think it's perfect just the way it is. You're beautiful. Fei will be speechless." She pulled her daughter in for a hug, holding her close to her heart. "I can't believe you're growing up so fast. Next thing you know, it'll be your wedding!"

Elly pushed away, rolling her eyes, and turning to check herself in the mirror one last time.

"Oh, Mom. It's just the prom! It'll be _years_ before I get married!"

Tifa didn't admit how much she hoped that was true as she led Elly down the stairs.

Reno and Fei were basking in an uncomfortable silence, but Fei was still breathing and not grimacing in pain. Tifa took that as a good sign. Doing her motherly duty, she made sure to fawn over both of them and snap lots of pictures. When she finally ushered them out the door, she turned to find Reno had somehow slipped away in the excitement.

This time, when she searched, he was nowhere to be found in the house. She turned out the lights as she went through the house, then made her way out into the back yard, where she could see Reno's silhouette exactly where she expected it might be.

He was as aware of her immediately, as he always was, watching her as she walked across the yard. Her breath caught as she got closer. His eyes, his smile; it was an expression he often had when she found him looking at her, an expression in which his love for her emanated, leaving no need for words. He sidled over carefully to allow room for her as she climbed into the hammock with him, and they snuggled down into the center of the rope contraption, Tifa cradled against him as they gazed up at the trees and the stars for a few minutes before she broke the silence.

"What was that earlier, when Fei arrived? You looked strange when he said hello."

Long minutes passed as Reno didn't look at her or answer. Tifa was beginning to wonder if he knew specifically what she was talking about or if she needed to explain, but then he drew in a breath, and she knew her answer was coming.

"He called me 'sir'."

Tifa waited. She knew there was more to it than the polite address Fei had used.

"No one's ever called me that before. I don't like it."

Tifa stared at his profile. What was Reno talking about?

"He was being polite, Reno. It's a way of showing respect." Surely he knew that.

"It's a way of making me feel old."

Aha!

"I'm sure he didn't mean it that way, Reno. Don't take it personally."

He kissed the top of her head, sighing softly.

"That's not just it, though, Tifa. Haven't you been paying attention?" He held out a strand of his hair, pulling at it emphatically. Tifa studied it, wondering what in the world he was expecting her to see.

"What? I don't get it."

He yanked at it again.

"It's gray, Tifa. _Gray_!"

And so it was, but it was not nearly as bad as Reno thought it was.

"Yeah, but it's just a strand or two…"

"A _strand _or two," he interrupted, his voice cracking. "If it gets much worse, people are going to think I'm related to _Sephiroth_."

Tifa burst into giggles, and Reno pushed her playfully away, precariously tipping the balance of the hammock, but somehow they managed to remain upright.

Tifa settled down, knowing that Reno was truly bothered by this.

"It's really not noticeable, Reno."

Reno studied her hair in the shadows. It was something he had done on more than one occasion recently.

"You're not going gray," he stated, half curious, half jealous.

Snorting, she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Of course I am!"

Reno had narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her hair, searching for the evidence.

"Now who's not being observant, Reno? Hello, handsome, it's called hair dye."

He was too cute when he gaped at her.

"You _dye _your hair?!"

"It's not like I'm hiding it! Haven't you seen the boxes in bathroom cabinet?"

"Are you kidding? I never go into that cabinet! It's full of…_girly_ stuff!" And now he was scrunching his nose distastefully, but there was a small, humorous smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah," Tifa nodded, knowing the girly stuff wasn't even close to what kept Reno out of the cabinet. "And cleaning supplies. Heaven forbid you ever cleaned a toilet!"

He held up a hand, looking completely repentant.

"You got me, guilty as charged." Then he noticed the little glimmer of mischief sparkling in Tifa's eyes. "Uh? What you thinking about, Baby?"

Her smile was far too innocent.

"I was thinking that I know the perfect color for you."

"The perfect…Oh NO! You are not putting any of that stuff in my hair! There's no WAY I'm letting you dump a bunch of chemicals in my hair just to get rid of the…wait…what color are we talking about here?"

Oh, yes. She had him.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. I got you. Just wait! Tomorrow, you'll be as good as new!"

Reno eyed her suspiciously, but decided to let it go. Hell, she had been dying her hair all this time and he hadn't even noticed. She must know what she was doing.

But there was something else he was curious about.

"So the gray hairs don't bother you, huh?"

Tifa ran a hand through her thick hair, smiling prettily.

"What gray hairs?"

"Huh."

He was quiet. Tifa started to worry. What was he thinking? This serious, concerned side was so out of character for him. Reaching out, she palmed his cheek, turning him to look at her.

"Tell me, Reno. What are you thinking?"

"It doesn't bother you? Getting older? Or is the answer just a bottle of hair dye?"

Sighing, Tifa braced herself to admit the truth.

"No, it's not that easy. That's just what I can hide. Truth is half the time I feel as lethargic as a cow, not to mention as big. Geez! I have fifteen pounds now that I didn't have even ten years ago, no matter how much I work out. And lately my bones have been creaking as bad as this hammock we're lying in." She shifted a little, setting the tight crisscrossed ropes to squealing as example.

Reno held her close, thoroughly enjoying the way she felt against him, wriggling much like she did when he tickled her, and before she stopped, they were both laughing at the cacophony the hammock was making.

"Well at least there's a chance you won't end up a withered old prune by the time you're sixty! You know, though, I bet…" Reno thought aloud, and then his sudden departure from her side was Tifa's only warning as he cleared the side of the hammock and tipped it at the same time, upending her onto the ground.

"Yeah, just what I thought." He grinned down at her, eye's twinkling with impish mirth. "Creaky bones or not, you still landed on your feet."

Exasperated, Tifa blew a stray hair from her face, glaring up at her husband menacingly. Oh, he was going to pay for that. But before she had a chance to retaliate, Reno was racing across the lawn, and Tifa was forced into pursuit.

Across the yard, through the house, she chased him, Reno dodging and closing doors behind him in an attempt to stall her, the two of them like children playing. When she slammed into the bedroom, however, she came up short. Limned in moonlight, Reno was standing in the middle of the floor, chest bare, with the shirt he had pulled off clutched in his hand.

"Wha?" Tifa blurted incoherently. Reno stalked her, discarding the shirt into the shadows with a flick of his wrist.

"I figured…" he ensnared her by the waist, lifting and spinning her around until he dumped her unceremoniously on the bed. Crawling up over her, he kneeled and bounced a bit on the bed. "…we'd find out which creaked more; your bones or this old bed. What ya think?"

Tifa couldn't help the wicked grin that spread over her face. "I think that this is the reason I'll never really feel old with you."

And as for getting him back for the hammock? Well, if tomorrow, she plotted, Reno happened to end up with neon lime green hair complimented by purple highlights, it would just serve him right.


End file.
